


Dirthara Lothlenan'as

by Lafaiette



Series: Solavellan Babies - Fenor and Ashera [17]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Ashera wants to kiss all the animals and collect flowers, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fenor wants to write a recipe book and eat all the food in the world, Hurt/Comfort, IT'S OKAY THEY CAN DO THIS, Love, Scarlet is the cutest mom ever but she is quite anxious too, Solas is the sweetest dad ever but he is quite anxious, they can do this too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-08-23 20:48:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8342179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lafaiette/pseuds/Lafaiette
Summary: Like a wary, overly-cautious, old wolf, he watches the world in silence and expects its next move, sure it’s planning to hurt his loved ones some way or the other. Solas wants his children to be free, but he also can't help but fret over them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ConstantlyComic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstantlyComic/gifts).



The garden around their house has grown quite a lot in the past sixteen years.

The trees that were once short and devoid of fruits now bear apples and pears abundantly; the bushes they planted when they first came to live here are blooming, the wind carrying their scent everywhere.

Solas used magic to carve a path among the tallest grass and bushes, so that reaching the trees and the vegetable garden would be easier and less “dangerous” for his family, although there is hardly anything scary in the emerald grass and thorn-less plants.

Scarlet and Ashera are using that same path today to collect some apples and carrots for dinner; the little girl, just eight years old, is hopping happily, choosing accurately the right spot to land her feet on.

Her mother holds her hand in her normal, right one, carrying a small basket in the mechanical arm partially hidden by the long sleeve of her dress.

“Mamae!” Ashera says, jumping right on the edge of the path where the mosaic turns green and not golden. “Is it true you had a throne when you were Inquisitor?”

Scarlet smiles, thinking with a mix of fondness and nostalgia about those days, although she wouldn’t go back to them for anything in the world. Too much chaos and pain and too much _Veil_.

“It’s true.” she confirms. “It wasn’t very pretty, but I liked it.”

“You judged people from there, right?” Ashera stops to look up at here with wide eyes, the same shape as Solas’, but golden like Scarlet’s. “Bad people! The books say so!”

“Well, now.” Scarlet says, raising an eyebrow and wondering what kind of books Ashera found. “They weren’t _all_ bad people. Sometimes they were just lost or misguided or the laws of their country didn’t know what to do.”

“But what if you didn’t want to judge someone?” the child insists, frowning, thinking with great intensity about it. “What if you just wanted to relax and spend time doing other things?”

Scarlet giggles and caresses her light brown hair, which Solas says is the same colour as his - and his eyebrows confirm this.

“Sometimes I asked Aunt Josephine to take care of the smaller matters. But being Inquisitor was a very important task and I couldn’t shirk my duties like that.”

“I read there was a huge garden in Skyhold!” Ashera continues, her young, wild mind instantly focusing on what she most loves, nature and flowers. “Were there many plants and animals, Mamae?”

“A lot. I planted some of them myself and bunnies always played in the bushes.” Scarlet says, laughing again when her daughter gasps in delight. “We will go to the village and buy some new flowers for our garden soon, what do you say? I heard there are beautiful ones growing in the Valarian Fields.”

“You can’t find that stuff in the village.” Ashera huffs, kicking a pebble and sending it flying across the garden. “It’s small and the shops don’t sell many things from other countries, even with the eluvians working.”

Scarlet stays quiet, a bit of sadness creeping over her heart. She knows the children are getting antsy, impatient to see the rest of the world more often.

They know about the Inquisition, the Veil, and their father’s past identity. They know how the Restoration happened and what role their parents, aunts, and uncles had in it, and this knowledge has been fueling their desire to explore the world outside their forest for many months now.

Solas and Scarlet bring them to their uncles and aunts, of course, but they rarely visit the cities they live in: people still recognize them and their fame only grew over the years due to their absence from the rest of Thedas, which nearly turned them into figure of legends.

Many think they are guarding Thedas from their golden palace hidden somewhere, silent guardians using kind wolves as their intermediaries with the world.

Their cozy house in the forest is not exactly a golden palace, but Scarlet thinks it’s even better than that.

Solas loves it even more, if that’s possible. He doesn’t like leaving it and the mere idea of spending time outside the forest, among countless people asking for his and Scarlet’s blessing as if they were holy saviors or _gods_ , scares him terribly.

He feels comfortable only in the houses of their friends, where only familiar people know the Wolf family and nobody dares to bother them or treat them like superior beings. Those are the only places where he can feel at home and where he is sure his family is safe from any kind of danger or unhealthy deification.

Because even though the Restoration changed and improved so much, there are still people, belonging to all the races, who didn’t like it at all and blame the members of the old Inquisition for the destruction of the Veil: humans who don’t want elves and dwarves to be as powerful as before, elves and dwarves who loathe the idea of humans sharing a big part of this newfound power and reality, Qunari still tied to incorrect teachings of the Qun that see in the presence of spirits and free magic only evil.

So Solas constantly worries whenever Scarlet and the children go somewhere that isn’t their safe, peaceful woods. He doesn’t fear only the excessive respect and veneration the majority of people have for them and their friends, but also attacks, retributions, rage, offenses.

Like a wary, overly-cautious, old wolf, he watches the world in silence and expects its next move, sure it’s planning to hurt his loved ones some way or the other.

The love he has for his family is so strong, so endless and eternal, that he has gotten paranoid and even if he is with them, accompanying them wherever they go, either when they go visit Varric, Dorian, Cassandra or even Abelas and Harding, he is tense and frets over Fenor and Ashera without pause, panicking even more if Scarlet is involved too.

But the children are growing up, they know everything about their parents’ past, and books just aren’t able to satisfy their curiosity and thirst for knowledge anymore.

Fenor is getting particularly nervous and impatient. He dreams of new tastes to find, discover, and rediscover, of ingredients to study, of special, ancient dishes that can be found only in certain places, of food different from the one his parents prepare or the one he himself makes with what he can find in their garden or in the small village outside the woods.

He dreams of writing his own recipe book, of watching different cultures and races make the dishes their forefathers ate. He dreams of what lies beyond his forest, of the Crossroads linking nearly every place of Thedas to another, and not even the beauty and knowledge of the raw, unveiled Fade can distract him from those thoughts.

Ashera is not in a hurry like him, but she has noticed how different life is elsewhere. Perhaps not better than the one she lives here, but different, new, unfamiliar, rich with animals and flowers she only ever saw in her beloved books or in the Fade, rich with people and colours and ruins of an ancient time.

Each child is slowly wishing to spend more time in the cities and places they have barely seen and Scarlet and Solas can do nothing about it.

“They will have to leave the den sooner or later.” she often tells Solas after Fenor’s umpteenth request to leave the forest has been denied.

And Solas is torn between worry, love, and the desire to see his children learn more. He hates refusing them the joy of studying and discovering the world around them, but at the same time he can’t bear the thought of watching them walk in those crowded cities or lively fields, surrounded by good, but overly enthusiastic people and dangerous, bitter individuals.

Scarlet stops by the biggest apple tree growing in their garden and kneels in front of Ashera to better look at her in the eyes.

“Why don’t you write down the flowers you want to have and then send the list to Aunt Vivienne or Aunt Josephine? I’m sure they will find them for you.” She fixes her unruly braids while talking and Ashera lets her do it with a pout and a frown.

“But Mamae!” she groans. “There’s no fun in that! I want to be the one to find them!”

Scarlet looks at her with a sad, guilty expression on her round face, then looks back at her braids, murmuring: “I know, _da’fen_. You will find them, I promise. It’s just that…”

“It’s just that Papae is scared.” Ashera concludes for her, sighing. “He’s scared of the world and the people and doesn’t like leaving the forest.”

“He wants to protect you and Fenor.” Scarlet corrects her, although she can’t really deny what she said. “And I agree with him. It’s still too early for you two to travel alone, Ashera, but don’t worry.” She smiles and cradles her face in her hands, admiring her eyes so similar to hers and Solas’ and the freckles decorating her cheeks. “We will visit Aunt Vivienne soon. The Dales are spectacular this time of the year and you’ll find lots of new plants and animals to play with.”

Ashera stops pouting at the ground and glances up at her mother. Scarlet’s smile widens and the child mumbles: “Promise?”

Scarlet kisses her forehead, replying enthusiastically: “Promise! I’ll talk with Papae about it later.”

Ashera sighs again, already losing hope: “He’s going to say no. Or if we go, he will follow me in wolf form for the whole time.”

Her mother blushes, knowing that’s also true, but doesn’t lose her smile and giggles, pinching her nose: “I’ll talk with him about that too. If you promise not to wander too far, I’m sure he won’t object.”

Ashera thinks about it for a second, then lightens up and grins, bouncing on her bare feet.

“I want to see the Prophet’s Laurel! It doesn’t grow here, but I saw the drawings in the books and it’s pretty and it can heal wounds! Oh, and the nugs! Aunt Leliana has so many and they are so _cute_!”

She keeps describing all the properties of the flowers and the qualities of the animals she saw in her books while holding the basket for Scarlet, that she fills it with shiny, plump apples.

The child gets even happier when they move to the vegetable garden and start picking the best carrots for dinner; her mother’s promise still rings in her ears and heart and the prospect of soon leaving the forest to visit the flourishing, green Dales fills her with infinite enthusiasm.

Scarlet thinks worriedly about that visit, to be honest: she shares some of Solas’ concerns and after everything they went through, all the pain, battles, blood they saw, living in their warm house is the best kind of bliss and peace they can imagine.

But she knows their children cannot understand that: they were born in a time of peace and renewal, with magic singing around them since from the start, and they know about the Veil only because she and Solas told them about it and taught them the past events and history.

They are _free_ and Solas’ dilemma is caused by this too. He hates himself for having become so apprehensive in the last years, but he also can’t help it, because his love for his family is way greater and the suffering he went through the centuries has deeply shaped him.

 _I am grim and fatalistic_. Scarlet still remembers those words and sighs, hoping he won’t panic too much after hearing her idea. Then she remembers his next sentence, pronounced so many years ago, and hides her giggles behind her free hand.

Ashera notices it and grins, knowing what is happening.

“You’re thinking about Papae again, aren’t you, Mamae?”

“Maybe.” Scarlet smiles, her blush touching her ears too. “Now let’s go home, so we can help Fenor with dinner.”

“I can help him! You and Papae can go kiss each other in bed.” The young girl gives her a knowing, smug look. “I know that’s what you do at night, even if you put a silencing spell around the room.”

“A-Ashera!” Scarlet babbles, turning beetle red, and the child cackles, absolutely not bothered by knowing that, and is about to say something else when they hear high voices come from the house just a few meters away.

Mother and daughter slowly enter through the kitchen door and Scarlet sighs, knowing that asking Solas to worry less is going to be quite difficult today.

He and Fenor are arguing, a quite rare event, since both of them never raise their voices. Fenor’s calm and shy personality just isn’t made for arguing with someone, unless the topic is serious or he is really angry.

This time, it seems it’s both: Fenor is fuming, although in a nearly respectful way, never daring to shout at his father, but trying in any way to explain himself and let him see his reasons.

Solas has lost part of his calm, but he remains collected and keeps preparing the table for dinner without faltering, not even when Fenor starts following him and putting himself between him and the table.

“Papae!” he’s saying, his big blue eyes burning like embers. “Just listen to me! I studied the maps, I know which eluvians to take and how to use them!”

“The answer is still no, Fenor.” Solas replies, stubbornly looking at everything but him. He swiftly dodges him when he tries to get in his way again and he goes back to the cupboards when the bowls are kept.

“Rialto isn’t far, Papae, and I only need to buy a few things.” Fenor desperately continues, anger now replaced by alarm and panic. Hope shines in his eyes for a moment as he says: “And I could go visit Grandma and Grandpa too! The eluvian for Wycome is right…”

“We will go visit them soon.” Solas concedes, even attempting to smile, despite the panic that is growing within him too. “And you will be able to buy whatever you want.”

“ _Fenedhis_ , Papae! We will just stay a few days without ever walking decently around the city and then come back here!” Fenor grabs the cutlery, but instead of placing it on either side of the dishes, he slams it on the table. “Or, if we are _allowed_ to go outside, you and Mamae will come with us no matter what!”

“You…!” Solas hesitates, but then changes his mind and continues, his hands clinging to the edge of the counter as if it was a life line. “You and Ashera are still too young to walk alone through the cities and fields and…!”

“I’m sixteen! I’m old enough to take care of myself and Ashera! It’s not like we’d stay far from home for months!” He sees his mother and his sister and looks angrily at the first too, before turning back to his father. “We can only stay inside our Uncles or Aunts’ houses and if we go out, you never let us walk alone, not even for a brief trip to a shop! It’s like we are living in cages!”

Solas pales hearing those words and it’s like Fenor slapped him. It takes him a few seconds to regain his composure, but when he speaks his voice is strained and his knuckles have turned white, so hard he is grabbing the wooden edge of the counter:

“That is not true. We only want to protect you. The world…”

“You said the world is not as dangerous as before! That you restored it and made it even better!”

“It still hides dangers. Threats. People who…” Solas takes a deep breath, looking outside the window placed above the counter. “People who would hurt you.”

“I can defend myself.” Fenor replies, his anger replaced again by apprehension. He doesn’t like arguing with his parents, with _anyone_ , and when it happens he makes things even more worse by saying too much.

That’s what he fears right now, but he continues: “I’m good with magic and Mamae taught me her rogue tricks. And even then, what could happen during a short trip to another city? We wouldn’t get lost, I swear it!”

“It’s _dangerous_.” Solas repeats more heatedly; he finally moves his hands from the edge of the counter to pile the bowls one atop another to bring them to the table. But he stays near the counter and turns to Fenor with a shaky smile that desperately tries to be reassuring.

“Just wait a little more, _da’fen_. You and Ashera will visit all the places you want soon, I promise, but for now you need to…”

“If Thedas is still so dangerous and evil, then I don’t even want to imagine what it was before the Veil fell.” Fenor interrupts him, bitter and defeated, looking down at the floor. “It’s like you didn’t improve anything at all.”

He gasps, realizing too late what he just said. He raises his eyes to Solas and finds him staring at him with hurt, pained eyes. Then he turns to Scarlet and sees the same expression on her face and shock on Ashera’s.

Ashamed, Fenor opens his mouth to apologize, but no sound comes out and he blushes, not knowing what to say and how.

Scarlet intervenes, deciding to use her serious voice for once, one that she rarely has to use with her firstborn. In this case, though, it’s absolutely necessary.

“Fenor!” she nearly shouts, making him jump. Her frown deepens and she adds, lowering her voice: “… Go to your room.”

 He doesn’t complain, on the contrary he looks almost relieved to be able to hide himself somewhere. He leaves the kitchen without a sound, without even looking back, but tears shine in his eyes and his hands are shaking.

Just like Solas’. He looks drained of all energies and Scarlet immediately softens, walking over to him and placing the basket next to the bowls.

“ _Vhenan_.” she says softly, resting her hand on his arm and smiling at him. “It’s still early for dinner. Let’s relax in front of the fire.”

He tentatively smiles at her in return, then looks at Ashera, who followed Scarlet. Her pockets are full of the plants and flowers she picked in the garden and he crouches down to be at her eye level and caress her head.

“Did you find what you wanted, _da’fen_?” he asks, tugging at one of her braids and making her giggle.

“Yes, Papae.” she replies without hesitation, but she isn’t a good liar and a hidden desire to say something more flickers in her eyes.

Solas notices it and pain flashes over his face again as his daughter enthusiastically shows him what she found. She doesn’t see his face, too busy taking out the flowers and leaves out of her pockets, but Scarlet does and a cold hand squeezes her heart painfully.

“These are very beautiful.” Solas says softly, accepting the petals the girl hands him and turning them in his palms to see them better. She tucks a long flower behind his ear and he finally smiles as she and Scarlet giggles.

They move to the other room where the roaring hearth and the huge armchair are.

It’s one of the places in the house that they most prefer: while Fenor and Ashera read or play on the large carpet in front of the fire, Scarlet sits on Solas’ lap on the armchair, both basking in the bliss of their family and enjoying whatever activity they chose.

Today only Ashera sits near the fireplace, arranging her flowers and leaves, following an order known to her only, selecting the ones that will end up in her book and the ones that her parents will tie on the ceiling, above the hearth, or in the kitchen.

As usual, Scarlet sits on her husband’s legs, retrieving the embroidery work she left on the small table near the armchair. But Solas doesn’t take his book and observes Ashera play with her treasures with sad, pensive eyes.

He looks deeply troubled, haunted by something like so many years ago, but this time he doesn’t hide it and lets his emotions appear on his face. He then moves his eyes to a vague point of the room and stays like that, lost in dark, panicked thoughts.

Scarlet observes him for a short while, thinking about the best way to address the topic; then she kisses his cheek and he snaps out of it, turning to her with a shaky smile. There are tears in his eyes.

She strokes his cheek with her normal hand, nuzzles his nose, then turns to Ashera and says gently to her: “ _Da’fen_ , why don’t you go to your room to choose the flowers you want to keep?”

She smiles and says the truth, because she thinks it’s important to be honest to children and not make excuses to them without reason: “Papae and I need to talk in private.”

Ashera looks back and forth from her to Solas, then grins and cackles.

“Oh, right! _Talk_!” She gets up and takes all the plants in her arms, smiling smugly at her parents. “Don’t kiss too much or your lips will fall off.”

“Ashera!” Scarlet exclaims, turning red and feeling a wave of shyness fall over her. Solas chuckles, but his eyes are still a bit sad and Ashera notices it.

“Don’t worry, Papae.” she says, slipping another flower across his other ear. “Fenor didn’t really mean that.”

A corner of Solas’ mouth moves upwards and he nods, but he looks torn and about to ask something. He changes his mind and leans down to kiss Ashera’s forehead before watching her slip two flowers into Scarlet’s hair.

“There!” she says happily, wiggling her eyebrows. “So you’ll be even more beautiful, Mamae.”

Scarlet tries to catch her to ruffle her hair and smooch her face, but Ashera is quicker and flees the room, filling it and the corridor with her laughter and giggles as she goes.

“She reads too many romance novels.” Scarlet mumbles, but she is smiling at the door and then she smiles at Solas too, her cheeks redder. “How… how do I look?”

He is looking at her with the warm love and adoration that always fill his eyes whenever he looks at her. He brings her hand to his mouth, kisses it, and says: “Perfect as always.”

She snorts and looks down at her embroidery, which depicts their house and four wolves playing in the garden. After a few seconds, still smiling, she looks back at him and sees he is still watching her, his eyes even softer than before.

“ _Ma sa’lath_.” she says. “Talk to me.”

Solas doesn’t reply immediately: first his smile fades and he looks away, anguish written on his pale face. Then he raises his eyes to her again and it’s like a river of words pour out of his mouth.

“Am I a bad father? A bad husband? Am I trapping you here, in this house, and making the children suffer?”

His hands are shaking again and his breathing is uneven. He stares intently at Scarlet’s embroidery as he keeps talking: “I know they need to explore the world for themselves, learn more, see more. They have to be free and yet _I_ am the one who is locking them here, but I… I can’t… I can’t…”

“Solas.” Scarlet cradles his face in her mismatched hands and rests her forehead on his, making him focus on her and her eyes. “Listen to me, _vhenan_. I know why you are doing this - why _we_ are doing this. It’s stronger than us and it’s understandable.”

“I just want to protect them.” Solas says, unable to stop talking now that he has finally started. “I know it is wrong to do it this way, believe me, I would _never_ stop them from being free, I just want things to be gradual and them to be ready and…!”

He takes a deep breath and finally looks into her eyes instead of staring at the embroidery on her lap.

“Do they hate me? What if I…”

“Solas.” Scarlet repeats, planting a light kiss on his lips. “ _Vhenan_ , they love you. They could never hate you! This is a normal phase.” She smiles and fixes the flowers on his ears. “They are growing up and this forest is getting too small for them.”

“I want them to visit the Vir Dirthara whenever they want. I want them to see how beautiful Thedas is, I want them to use their magic in the water, sky, fields.” he murmurs, eyes closed.

He reopens them and there are tears in them again. “ _Vhenan_ , I want… I want them to be free, but every time they walk far from us, out of our sight, my heart stops and I feel like dying.”

“I know.” She moves her hands from his face to take his and massage his palms. “Let me explain you something, _vhenan_. You know why we love living like this so much?”

He furrows his brow, not understanding what she means, so she continues, while taking the flowers hanging across his ears: “I mean in such a domestic, simple way. Exploring the Fade, making love there and in the waking world, waking up with the sun on our faces, making breakfast, and then reading, sewing, writing, painting, studying and playing with our children until evening.”

“Oh.” Solas nods, then he remembers her question and is confused again. She giggles and entwines the fingers of her right hand with his, saying: “Because it’s what we always desired. To have a normal life and a happy family together. To finally be at peace, free from duties, roles, and titles.”

Something clicks in Solas’ head and his confusion disappears. He listens to her intently, mesmerized, as she adds:

“After everything we went through, after the years - _centuries_ in your case - fighting and planning, this is our greatest reward. We were born in a world full of injustice and wars, now we can live together in a world full of magic and wonders and _balance_.”

He nods again, watching her hands resting into his again: the long fingers of her right hand are rubbing his palm, her mechanical left hand is gripping gently his other hand and he melts.

“The children were born in this world, Solas.” Scarlet continues and he raises his eyes to her. Her face is full of kindness and love and she softly, slowly explains it to him, because he, despite all his knowledge and wisdom, needs guidance in these matters which are so mysterious to him.

“They never knew war. They never knew the Blight, demons, the Circle, the hatred of humans. They can’t understand why we think living like this is the best thing in the world, why we are so scared of going where people might recognize us and give us more roles and tasks.”

Slowly, she takes the flowers he had on his ears, resting on her lap with the embroidery work, and slips them into the pocket of the shirt she sewed for him.

“That’s why they want to leave the house more often and explore Thedas.” she continues, taking out her flowers from her hair. “It’s normal for them to want so, but they don’t hate you because you are so worried for them. They are clever enough to understand why we act like this. They will never hate you, Solas.”

She slips those two flowers into the pocket too and smiles at him as he looks at the four, cheerful, colored plants with eyes full of wonder.

“Arguments like the one you and Fenor had today are absolutely normal. We must not feel bad about them and if they happen, it doesn’t mean the kids hate us or that they are unhappy with us. It just means they are growing and it shows how different…” She taps his nose, like he often does with her. “… and similar to us they are.”

She smiles and Solas finally does it too, tears running freely down his cheeks. He brings Scarlet’s hands to his mouth again and kisses them, unable to thank her with words right now, but showing it through a gesture.

“We should proceed little by little.” she concludes. Her voice has been soft like a feather, light like the specks of dust floating near the windows, for the whole time. “Like, letting them go to the village alone or go to the market when we are in visit to our friends.”

She remembers what Ashera told her and adds, smiling gently: “Ashera would like to pick plants and see animals in the Dales. We could go to Vivienne’s estate for another picnic and let Ashera and Fenor wander alone for a while.”

She brushes her mouth against Solas’ and grins. “Step by step, _vhenan_. We will overcome this anxiety together.”

He sniffles, scrunching up his nose, and keeps smiling at her before nodding. Then he hugs her and presses his face into her hair as she giggles and rubs his back, swaying them both.

“I don’t deserve you, _ma sa’lath_.” he says, voice muffled, and she pats his nape and replies: “Hush, silly wolf.”

“I…” He pulls back and clears his throat, looking at the door that leads to the other rooms of the house. “I am going to apologize to Fenor. And then…” He gets up and leans down to kiss Scarlet, who is the one now sitting on the armchair.

“And then we will plan our trip to the Dales.” he finishes, smiling at her. “You are right. They must leave the den, even if little by little. I… I won’t let this fear beat me.”

“That’s my wolf.” Scarlet murmurs, giving him a kiss in return. “Go, _ma sa’lath_ , and don’t worry about anything.”

It’s nearly painful to move away from her and the armchair, but in the end Solas manages to do it and leave the room. Before going to Fenor, he heads to Ashera’s room and finds the door open, his daughter sitting on the floor, pressing the flowers she prefers on the pages of a blank book filled with her drawings of animals.

It’s her cherished collection and she looks up from it only when Solas knocks on the door.

“May I?” he asks with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

“Yes! Look, Papae!” Ashera shows him the last page she completed. “Mamae says this is color-sorted!”

He looks at the different gradients of colors gradually changing across the page: the first leaf is green, the last one is a vivid red, with varied degrees of shade in-between, all depending on the creatures Ashera related them to.

“It certainly is.” He confirms, before doing what he came for: he leans down and smooches her cheeks with loud kisses, making her laugh and snort.

“Prepare a new blank book, little cub.” he grins, ruffling her hair. “We are going to the Dales soon and you will find all the flowers and animals you want there.”

Ashera gasps in delight and Solas chuckles, kisses her head, and leaves her to her excitement and joy, heading to his firstborn’s room.

He feels elated, light, and almost as excited as her. Making his family happy, giving it what it desires, is what he lives for and he knows that he can win this anxiety, this panic building inside his throat too, just like he won many other things.

“Fenor?” he calls gently, knocking on the closed door. He doesn’t answer, but Solas expected that.

Slowly, he pushes the door and peeks into the room, his eyes already looking for the boy near his desk, where he usually spends his time writing his recipes down.

But Fenor isn’t writing and he isn’t even sitting at his desk: he is not laying on his bed either and the comfortable chair Varric gave to him years ago is empty.

The window is open and Solas realizes what happened: Fenor probably decided to go for a stroll in the forest to calm down and think about what happened. He loves walking there and he has been doing it quite often lately, ever since his desire to visit Thedas more grew in his heart.

Solas is about to leave the room and close the door again, when a particular detail catches his attention.

Fenor’s bag, the one he always brings whenever they go visit their friends, is gone. He also can’t find the pouch the boy uses to keep his money, the one he usually leaves on his desk.

Why did he take that stuff just to walk in the forest? Unless…

Solas pales and swallows, stumbling backwards, outside the room. It takes him a few seconds to accept the reality of things, the real meaning of what he saw.

Quicker than a lightning spell, he runs to the living room and babbles as Scarlet, noticing his pallor and terrified expression, gets up alarmed:

“Fenor… Fenor is gone!”


	2. Chapter 2

“Gone?” Scarlet gasps, bringing her hand to her mouth. She goes as pale as Solas. “What do you mean he’s gone?”

“He is not in his room! And he took his bag and pouch too, he can’t be in the forest!” Solas starts breathing fast, his wide eyes full of despair and anxiety. “We… we must find him. The Crossroads are…”

The Crossroads are infinite, their paths and doors countless, the destinations they lead to many.

And they have no idea where Fenor went. He might be in Rialto to buy those ingredients he wanted, but they don’t know for certain.

He could be anywhere and that thought terrifies them.

“Solas!” Scarlet babbles, rushing to him. She is shaking and there is fear written all over her now pale face. “ _Vhenan_ , how are we going to find him?”

She often forgets about the magic that now surrounds them, the Fade and its inhabitants so strongly connected to their world. That’s something that will help them immensely or so Solas hopes.

“I know a spell. Something simple, but effective to find someone. I just need something that belongs to him.” he says, taking her hand and holding it tightly against his chest.

She is feeling sick too, he can see it. They haven’t faced a serious situation like this in _years_ and despite everything they went through during the times of the Inquisition and even later, this is the worst situation they ever found themselves into.

Probably because their son is involved. Solas feels like puking for a moment, terror and worry twisting his guts until he can barely breathe, but he manages to regain some of his composure and cold blood.

“We… we should take our weapons.” Scarlet says softly, sharing with him a serious look. “Just in case.”

She isn’t shaking anymore and he can see a part of her Inquisitor self in her again, a spark that never really died, the ability to lead and fix things with her wisdom, brilliance, and kindness.

He nods and squeezes her hand one last time before running with her to their bedroom, where an old oak chest is.

He unlocks it with magic and they open it together, checking Scarlet’s blades, Solas’ staff, and the armors they keep there to see if anything got ruined after years of rest.

The protective spells Solas cast on them worked perfectly, though, so everything is still as they first saw it.

Scarlet retrieves her daggers and belt and ties them on her back; their presence feels almost strange after so much time spent without using them.

She still doesn’t feel comfortable enough to use magic and her confidence in battle still lies in physical weapons, just like it does for many other people still getting used to the wonders of the Restoration.

Solas, on the other hand, wouldn’t even need his staff, but he takes it all the same to have something familiar and solid to lean onto. He and Scarlet wear heavy capes and wolf pelts, then he helps her checks her mechanical arm.

“We should call Dorian first.” he murmurs as they control the smallest parts of the artificial limb. “Maybe he went to him.”

“He knows we would go there first.” Scarlet says as they check her fingers next. She shakes her head and sighs. “I don’t think he ran away, _vhenan_. He probably just went to Rialto.”

She smiles at him to reassure him, but Solas just can’t shake the guilt off.

“This is my fault.” he says, voice breaking. “As always.”

“If someone did something wrong here, then it’s _us_. Not just you.” She closes her fingers around his and cups his cheek with the other hand. “So now let’s go talk with our boy and fix this together.”

Solas closes his eyes, breathes deeply, and reopens them again, smiling at her.

“Good.” She lovingly rubs her fingers on his palm, then slowly pulls away, adding with confidence: “Let’s bring Ashera with us. I don’t want her to remain here alone.”

“Then we should write a message for Fenor, should he come back while we aren’t here.” He sighs and mumbles: “I swear, if he just went to the village outside the forest, I…”

“He never brings his bag to go there!” Scarlet exclaims, then the doubt hits her and she gets pensive, mumbling as well: “Maybe… maybe we are exaggerating?”

They share a long look and then nod. One can never be too much sure and their parental instinct is telling them that Fenor definitely went to the Crossroads.

So there they will go, weapons ready and wolf pelts fluttering behind their backs.

They quickly write a short message to Fenor and take one of his scarf from his room; then go to Ashera, who is still putting flowers into her book. She gasps and smiles in delight when she sees her parents dressed to go out.

“ _Da’fen_ , put on your pelt and let’s go.” Scarlet says gently, smiling to show her that everything is fine. “We… ah, are going to find Fenor.”

“Fenor is _gone_?” Ashera looks confused and horrified for a second, then she frowns and pouts, springing up. “Why didn’t he bring me with him?? I wanted to go too!”

“Well, we are going now.” her mother jokes, helping her put on and tie the pelt around her shoulders. She looks at Solas, whose face is absolutely grim and dark, and smiles fondly before turning back to their daughter: “You will help us find him, alright?”

“Like a treasure hunt!” Ashera exclaims, bouncing up and down, and Solas finally smiles at that, intervening: “Yes, sweetheart, like a treasure hunt.”

She narrows her eyes, the shape identical to Solas’.

“What about the prize?”

“Finding your brother is a good prize enough.” Scarlet snorts, kissing her head. “Come on, come on, let’s go! He probably went to Rialto to buy those ingredients he wanted.”

“Rialto? Where lady Mahariel and messer Zevran are?” Ashera giggles enthusiastically and she would clap her hands if her mother wasn’t holding hers. “He’s so charming!”

Solas grumbles something under his breath and slows down to walk at his wife’s side. He makes a mental list of all the spirits to ask information to and then shares it with Scarlet.

“There should be traces of him left in the Crossroads too, right?” They catch a glimpse of the eluvian a few meters away and she adds, coming up with something even more practical: “I mean, he left only a short time ago! Someone might still remember seeing him, especially if they recognized him.”

Then she realizes what her last words mean. If someone indeed recognized Fenor, then they might have bothered him, either with obnoxious compliments, thanks, requests or with offences, insults, rage.

Fear strikes her heart again and her hand instinctively looks for Solas’. He grips it tightly and murmurs reassuringly, although he feels as terrified as her: “Don’t fear, _vhenan_. We will find him soon. He is…” He swallows his tears, not wanting Ashera to see him panic. “He is a capable young man.”

“He is.” Scarlet smiles, pushing back her tears as well, although they can be heard in her voice. “Just like his father.”

They reach the eluvian and see that its surface is dark; however Solas detects magic around it and senses that it has been activated recently and then closed. He uses the spell on the scarf, closing his eyes for a brief moment, and the magic around him tells him that Fenor indeed went through the mirror.

“He didn’t go to the village then.” Scarlet murmurs, watching her husband wave his hand and reopen the passage.

The eluvian shines brightly and casts its azure glow all around the small clearing it’s located in, making shadows and figures dance on the three elves and the trees around them.

Solas takes a deep, shaky breath. They will have to face the outside world again. They will have to _approach_ people and ask them if they saw their son, then watch realization shine on their face and politely avoid their questions and requests or awkwardly accept their thanks.

He has never been good with people, not even when he was young in old Elvhenan. Now that everyone wants to thank him and his family - and some even hurt them for making things so different -, it’s all even more complicated.

But Fenor is _gone_ and he never walked around Thedas alone. What if he got lost or hurt? What if someone took him or brought him somewhere far?

So he gathers all his strength and turns to Scarlet, who looks as nervous as him, although she is hiding it better. Their blissful life in the forest surely softened them a lot.

She sees how anxious he is and squeezes his hand, giving him a warm smile.

“I’m here, _vhenan_.” she says and he smiles back, entwines their fingers, and says: “I’m here too, _ma sa’lath_.” He then looks at Ashera, who is staring at the eluvian with eyes full of trepidation, and asks: “Ready?”

Both girls nod and they step into the mirror together.

They find themselves in a secluded part of the Crossroads, where no other eluvians are and very few people ever come to.

The mirror they use to move around, their personal eluvian, is constantly closed and can be opened only with a password known to few, basically only their friends; there are trees and golden elven statues partially obscuring the view of it too, so they have never been bothered and they still haven’t met anyone.

But they can hear people talking and walking in the main part of the Crossroads and the glow of spirits is easily recognizable in the distance. They are stepping into the loud, crowded, living world again.

And Solas is terrified of what people will say once they see and recognize them. Once they recognize _him_.

But there is no time to think about that now. He finds respite in knowing that he can use the spell and talk to spirits first, that they, most than anybody else, probably saw where Fenor went.

He concentrates, but the scarf now tells him very little. Fenor indeed was here just little time ago, but there is _so much magic_ in the world now, so many different auras, spells, and souls swirling in the air that the faint trace left by the young boy isn’t strong enough to be followed.

He swallows. Magic might have been restored, although in a different, less strong way, but it seems it can still fail after all.

Scarlet and Ashera look at him, patiently waiting, even though his wife notices his inner turmoil and squeezes his hand to calm him down.

“The trace is too weak?” she asks timidly and his heart swells with love for her.

“Yes, my heart.” he says with a small, crooked smile. “Let’s ask a spirit.”

So he calls one, using his magic, plus his very nature and presence, which always intrigued spirits a lot. Ashera squeals happily when she sees the inhabitant of the Fade slowly manifest itself in front of them and runs to its side, while it tilts its head to look at her curiously.

“Hello!” she greets him, her grin blinding. “What kind of spirit are you?”

“I am Patience.” the spirit answers calmly and a smile can be heard in its ethereal voice. It turns to Solas and Scarlet and it bows its head.

“Greetings, Wolf Family. How may I be of assistance?”

“Our boy!” Scarlet starts, making a step forward, her hand still clutching Solas’. “Fenor is gone! Did you see him anywhere?”

“We think he might have gone to Rialto, but it would greatly help us if you had concrete, reliable information.” Some of Solas’ panic and worry slip into his voice, which shakes. He shows the scarf. to the spirit. “The spell I know isn’t enough and there is too much magic in the air.”

He never thought he would say something like that.

“Please!” he continues, breathing hard. “Anything can help!”

Patience tilts its head again, then replies gently: “I fear I did not see your son. But there are other people, of flesh and Fade, in the rest of the Crossroads. If he really went to Antiva, they surely saw him.”

It turns to where the voices and sounds, typical of a crowded place and similar to the ones of a marketplace, are coming from and points to it.

“I will ask around too. I am in no hurry, after all.”

Again, a smile can be heard in its tone and the spirit bows one last time before floating away, heading to where the three elves need to go as well.

“Alright.” Solas says, talking also to himself. He takes a deep breath and grips tighter Scarlet’s hand. “Let’s see what they can tell us.”

“I can talk with people if you are scared.” Ashera kindly says as they walk towards the central plaza. “They won’t recognize me!”

She is holding Scarlet’s hand again, but she often stops to pick up flowers or strands of grass to put them into her large pockets. She is absolutely calm, the idea of Fenor far and away not fazing her at all.

“That won’t be necessary.” Solas reassures her with a smile and a caress on her hair. He could never let her do that, because people _would_ recognize her and the less people focus on his children, the better.

Scarlet has put on her strong, Inquisitor-like mask and she is more relaxed than him when they step into the main path of the Crossroads, surrounded by eluvians and people of every race.

At first, nobody really notices them, but then an elf catches a glimpse of Solas’ bald head, a human recognizes Scarlet and her prosthetic arm, a Qunari and a dwarf notice their clothes and in the end word quickly starts spreading around.

Whispers follow them as they move: elated, reverent, awed, even a bit scared. It feels _wrong_ and Solas recoils from them, because he’s scared by the worship he sees in their eyes.

It’s like being back in old, twisted Elvhenan and the signs of that idolatry that caused the old world to fall to ruin are all there.

Suddenly, an old elven woman grasps the brim of his fur cape and bows her head, murmuring something. Solas gasps and stumbles back, pale and trembling, fear tinting his eyes.

He’s about to give in to panic, when Scarlet intervenes, gently pushing Ashera near him and turning to the old lady.

“ _Hahren_.” she kindly says, smiling. The other woman blinks, shocked, not knowing what to say and how to react. “Please don’t do that. My husband and I don’t want people to treat us like that.”

“Oh! I… I didn’t mean to… to…” The lady watches back and forth from her to Solas, then babbles: “Forgive me, Your Worship.”

“I’m not the Inquisitor anymore.” Scarlet laughs softly, taking her hand. The lady looks at hers like it’s an unknown, incomprehensible thing. “So just call me Scarlet, alright?”

“Oh no!” the old woman gasps, shaking her head. Her gray hair, tied into a simple bun, falls near her wrinkled face as she does so. “I can’t do that, Your Worship, you…”

Scarlet gently insists, her words soft and kind; the crowd around them increases, although it’s ever-moving, not just staring at them, much to Solas’ relief.

He is holding Ashera against his chest, letting her observe the different people all around them and giving her comfort, because despite her previous words she is feeling quite overwhelmed by all that attention too now.

Patience comes back, probably attracted by Scarlet’s words and behavior with the old lady. The spirit says nobody saw Fenor, not even its other spirit friends, but it will keep searching.

“You lost your son?” the old lady asks and a murmur rises from the people around them.

“Yes!” Scarlet’s panic comes back and she clutches the collar of her fur cape. “Please, did you see him anywhere? He has red hair like mine and blue eyes like his father!”

She turns to Solas and adds timidly, cheeks red: “Although Solas’ look grey too sometimes. And freckles!” She turns back to the woman. “He has freckles on his face!”

Solas is a bit worried about telling strangers how his son looks like, but there is no reason to hide it now, especially if they can help them find him. Also, they are standing right in front of the crowd right now, at the center of their attention, and they can see Ashera too.

He gathers his courage and says to the old lady, even though he’s talking to everyone: “I tried using magic, but in vain. A spirit of Patience is helping us, but Fenor never went so far from home and we are worried. Please, we…”

He walks near to Scarlet and holds her close, while tightening his arm around Ashera too.

“We… we just want to find our boy.”

The murmur gets louder and various words can be heard, words of surprise, worry, practical advices and ideas.

Many are surprised to hear that Solas’ magic was ineffective, but that only makes him and his family more similar to everyone else. The very problem they found themselves into helps breaking the illusion of all-powerful, deity-like beings and he can finally breathe better.

People timidly start to speak up and offer their help: if Fenor really was here just a little time ago, then someone must have seen him. And then questions go around, together with descriptions of the boy, until a few voices rise and a trace is found.

“I think I saw a red-headed elf run over there.” a young Qunari from Orlais says, her clothes dirty with flour and sugar, probably a baker. “He looked very nervous.”

And then more information come, little details and sudden memories that lead to a single eluvian.

“That leads to a clearing in the Free Marches.” a Rivaini man explains, noticing Solas’ confusion as he gazes upon the surface of the mirror. “Good herbs and mushroom grow there.”

“It’s true! I always use them for my tavern!” a dwarf from the Anderfels adds from afar and a Tevene scholar intervenes: “Messer Fenor loves cooking, you said, right? It wouldn’t hurt to try there first, then.”

“Solas!” Scarlet gasps, grasping his sleeve. “ _Vhenan_ , he must be there!”

Solas nods, still looking at the mirror, and just as he is about to put Ashera down and proceed into the eluvian, Patience comes back.

“Oh!” it exclaims, somewhat surprised. “You are already here!” It nods to the mirror and adds with all the serenity in the world, just like Ashera was before: “A friend of mine, Comfort, found him there.”

That’s everything they need. Solas activates the mirror and shouts to the crowd “Thank you all!” before leaping into it with Scarlet and Ashera.

They are now in a quiet, colorful forest. There are spirits moving and talking among the tall trees and bushes of beautiful flowers and Solas’ spell works better here, perhaps thanks to the presence of less people in the flesh.

“Yes, he is nearby.” he murmurs, squeezing Scarlet’s hand and finally letting Ashera get down. His heart is beating so fast it almost hurts his chest and he can hear little over the sound of blood, fear, panic, and relief all mixed together rushing in his ears.

Scarlet’s stoic mask falls again and she sobs, calling out: “Fenor! Fenor, where are you?”

No answer, but the spirits around them get curious. They linger near them, not voicing their interest, but watching them carefully.

Ashera approaches two of them, as calm as ever, while her parents keep calling her brother, still hand in hand to give each other courage and reassurance.

She exchanges just one look with the two spirits - which she doesn’t recognize -, but it’s enough. Even without words, she knows what they are telling her and so she quietly follows them, certain that they will help her.

Scarlet and Solas are able to catch a glimpse of her before she completely disappears from their sight beyond the trees and they call her, afraid she will get lost too.

“Ashera, come back here!” Scarlet shouts, voice shaking, and Solas prompts her to follow their daughter into the woods.

“Ashera, please!” he calls, but then he notices the spirits further ahead and calms down a bit.

“This way!” the little girl answers, wading through the tall grass and bushes, and her parents now quietly follow her and her light-brown braids swaying with each of her steps.

“Solas…” Scarlet whispers and he never saw so much fear in her eyes before, not even during the times of the Inquisition. “Solas, why isn’t he answering back? Can he not hear us? Did something…”

“No, no, _ma vhenan_!” he hurriedly says, his voice soft like a feather and equally fragile. “It is not like that, I can feel it! He’s not… he’s not hurt.” He swallows and repeats, also talking to himself now: “He is not hurt.”

“Maybe he fell. Maybe he struck his head.” Scarlet shakes her head, tears spilling from her eyes. “Solas, _vhenan_ , I’m scared.”

“Don’t be.” he insists, pressing a quick kiss on her cheek as they keep moving forward. “Don’t be, _ma vhenan_. Everything…”

And then they hear a giggle and a surprised exclamation. They recognize both sounds and their hearts stop beating for a moment, just to beat even faster than before, relief rushing through them like a hot, boiling stream that melts their worry and fear.

They rush ahead until they enter the clearing mentioned by the people in the Crossroads. Fenor is at the center of it, sitting on the soft grass. One of his feet is wounded, a small trail of blood running down it, but for the rest he seems unharmed.

“Fenor!” Scarlet shouts, running to him. She falls on the ground and throws her arms around him, hugging him so tightly he grunts loudly. Then he hears her cry and sob and his surprise turns into shame and pain.

“Mamae!” he says softly, timidly hugging her back. “Mamae, I’m fine!”

He spots Solas standing at the edge of the clearing and his shame increases, tinting his cheeks red and making him look down at the soil with tearful eyes.

Solas slowly walks over to him and kneels down at Scarlet’s side; she pulls away and strokes Fenor’s cheeks, babbling: “We looked for you everywhere! We were so worried for you, _da’fen_ , so worried!”

“I’m… I’m sorry.” he mumbles, nodding at his bag. “I just wanted to pick some new ingredients for our dinner. But…” His lower lip trembles and hiccups shake his body as he continues, on the verge of tears: “But I entered the wrong eluvian and I thought I could find good stuff here too, but then I tripped on a stone and my foot hurts and no matter how many times I tries, my healing magic is never enough and…”

Healing magic has never been Fenor’s forte and the long cut on his ankle is still bleeding. Ashera leans down and whistles, hands on her hips. She is absolutely unperturbed, as if she knew since from the start that things would have ended well.

The spirits who kept Fenor company are still there, observing the scene in respectful silence; Solas thanks them with a silent nod, then passes a hand over his son’s foot and heals it in an instant as the boy, his mother, and his sister watch.

“There, see? All better now.” Scarlet smiles, cupping his cheek again and Solas turns to him a second time.

Tears are blurring his sight and Fenor notices them, panicking.

“Papae…!”

He never saw him cry like that. Solas usually does it when his joy and relief are too big to be contained and he still can’t believe this is real, that he really has a family with Scarlet and the world is restored.

But these are big, shiny tears of a different relief and when Solas presses his forehead against Fenor’s and rubs his back, he is openly sobbing and his breath is stuck into his throat, coming out in short, wheezing hiccups.

He feels Scarlet’s hand on his back and Ashera tenderly pats his bald head; Fenor cries with him and slowly hides his face against his chest, trembling violently.

“I’m sorry.” the boy sobs and his parents hold him and his sister in a tight embrace.

Ashera looks up at her brother and grins cheerfully, patting his head too once they pull away from each other to regain their breath.

“Next time remember to bring me too!”

 

\- - - -

 

As soon as they leave the clearing and step back into the Crossroads, they realize the crowd never moved from there.

Everyone waited for them and when they see Fenor, a loud, happy cheer explodes in the air and the sky and light around them get brighter and a faint, but delicious perfume lingers around them, while soft music resonates in the distance.

It’s the effect that people’s feelings have on the world now that this is filled with magic again and the Wolf Family feels distinctly their respect and joy. It’s different from what Solas imagined and feared and even though his worries haven’t dissipated completely, he is able to relax.

And he thanks everyone, smiling and clasping their hands and arms, shielding his family not out of fear, but out of love, because a fresh wind has risen and Scarlet’s hair is flying in every direction and she and Ashera are laughing and Fenor is holding firmly his hand.

He thanks the crowd too, timid like his mother, and Patience too, who waited the whole time right next to the eluvian. And then they go back home, right in time to prepare a good meal.

 

\- - - -

 

Fenor rests a little to regain his strengths after the bad scare he gave both his parents and himself.

He jokes and plays with Ashera from his bed first, though, and doesn’t really fall asleep and enter the Fade: he just relaxes and shyly waits for his parents, knowing they will come to talk to him.

Scarlet comes first, bringing hot milk. She calmed considerably after her outburst in the glade and Solas helped her brush her hair and change into her usual, comfortable clothes.

“Here.” she says, placing the tray on the small table near the bed. She is smiling warmly and Fenor feels even more ashamed than before, because he doesn’t see any trace of well-deserved ire on her round face.

“Drink it before it gets cold.” she says, nodding at the cup of milk. She caresses his long hair and sits on the edge of the bed, asking: “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” Fenor slowly takes the milk, thanks her, and starts drinking to find the right words to better apologize. He can’t find much in his mind, though, and he can’t keep drinking forever, so he swallows one last sip and then lowers the cup.

“I… I’m sorry, Mamae.” he repeats lamely, staring at the white, steaming liquid. She lifts his chin and her smile grows as she looks at him.

“No, _da’fen_ , we are sorry.” she says, her expression turning serious and sad. “We shouldn’t have kept you and Ashera in a cage, even if we thought it was for your own good.”

“But this is not a cage, Mamae! I… I didn’t mean to say that this morning!” He sighs, eyes welling up with tears again. “I’m sorry for what I said today. I didn’t mean it, I swear it.”

“I know, _da’fen_.” Scarlet grins and ruffles his hair, making him laugh. “You were just angry, a very rare event.”

They hear a knock on the doorframe and see Solas standing there, watching them with a soft smile.

“May I?” he asks and Fenor nods quickly, while Scarlet scoots over to leave him some space on the edge of the bed.

He sits down and takes her right hand - she removed the mechanical one -, resting it on his lap.

They play with each other’s finger and even though they are doing it discreetly, Fenor notices it the same and hides his smile behind the brim of his cup.

His parents have always been very affectionate with each other… sometimes even too much, he thinks with a pang of embarrassment and a badly hidden groan, remembering all the times he and Ashera walked in on them kissing passionately or even _making out_.

His parents seem to know what he’s thinking about, because Solas chuckles and Scarlet giggles, face red.

“Don’t worry, we will start kissing only in our room.” his father promises and Fenor smiles at him, amused, before falling back into a deep, dark pit of shame.

“Papae… Papae, I didn’t mean those things I said. I…” he starts, looking back at the cup for a moment. He raises his eyes, mouth open, but Solas cuts him off with a kiss on the forehead and another hand ruffling his hair.

“Forgive us, Fenor. We didn’t want you and Ashera to feel trapped.” He sighs and takes his hand too, squeezing his fingers like he used to do when he was little and was scared of thunders.

“Things will change from now on, we promise.”

“And if we keep worrying for you and Ashera, please bear with us.” Scarlet gives him a lopsided smile. “We love you too much to stop doing that, but we won’t let our fears hurt you anymore, believe us.”

Then she giggles and wipes off the milk from his upper lip with a clean handkerchief.

“Thank you.” he says, looking at them both with a huge smile. Then elation appears on his face and he gasps happily. “Does that mean I’m not grounded?”

“Mh.” Solas purses his lips, deep in thought, and shares a look with Scarlet. “A good question.”

“You’ve never been grounded before. I’m not even sure how that works.” she taps her chin, humming. “Should we deny you access to the kitchen…?”

“No!” Fenor groans, shoulders slumping, but his parents laugh and hurry to reassure him.

“As if we could ever do something like that to you.” Solas jokes, ruffling his hair again with an affectionate grin. “But there will be surely some kind of punishment for you.”

“I…” Fenor frowns, thinks hard about it, then sighs and mumbles: “I can renounce to my portion of sweets and give it to Ashera. For… for a month.” He clears his throat and adds quickly: “… Two weeks?”

“That’s too easy.” Scarlet snorts, pinching his cheek. “We need something _harsher_.”

Fenor’ eyes widen, but he bravely waits for the sentence, the cup of milk resting forgotten on his lap.

His parents look at each other again, pretending to think about it, and they even whisper something into each other’s ear, seizing the chance to also kiss the other’s cheek or lips. Fenor frowns at them and groans.

“Is this my punishment?” he flatly jokes, earning himself more ruffled hair.

“We found a good one.” his mother announces after another shared look with his father. Fenor tenses up and waits: his parents never punished him before, they always preferred to talk to him in those rare cases when he did something he wasn’t supposed to do.

They always did the same with Ashera too, even though she is way more mischievous than him and always gets herself into trouble. So this is all very new to him and he doesn’t know what to expect.

“You shall visit all the regions the people who helped us today came from.” Solas says, solemn like he rarely heard him before.

“And you will prepare something to eat and sell it in their major cities to indirectly repay for their help.” Scarlet continues and she sounds austere too; Fenor realizes this is probably the way she used to talk from her throne when she was Inquisitor.

Then their words finally make their way into his mind. His eyes widen again and he looks at them, mouth agape, not knowing what to say.

His mother’s serious face crumbles and she starts giggling, while his father’s expression melts and turns into a soft, bright smile.

“You mean… you mean we will travel? Like, visiting Thedas without hurry and…”

“And we will let you and Ashera stay alone for a while.” Scarlet confirms, nodding. She looks at Solas, who is fidgeting with her fingers and looks like he wants to say something really badly, but is too shy to do so.

“Just… let us know where you are, alright?” Scarlet chuckles, turning back to Fenor and making Solas let out a relieved sigh. “We will get you two sending crystals like the one Uncle Dorian gave me.”

“Oh! Oh, thank you!” Fenor almost spills the milk on the floor, so he hastily places the cup on the small table before throwing his arms around his parents. “Thank you so much!”

He even gives them a kiss on the cheek and then rushes out of the room, looking for his sister, his long red hair fluttering behind him, a huge, blinding smile on his face.

“Ashera! Ashera, we are going to visit all Thedas!”

They hear her make a loud gasp, then she says, not believing it: “Is _that_ your punishment? Brother, you should have done this ages ago!”

Their parents laugh, still sitting on their firstborn’s bed. Scarlet leans onto her husband and he wraps his arms around her, pressing his face against her soft hair.

“Thank you for giving me the strength to do this.” he says, kissing the top of her head. When she raises it, he kisses her lips, making her smile.

“I’d say you gave me a great boost of courage as well, _ma vhenan_.” she replies, cupping his cheek. “Goodness, that was quite the scare!”

“I am glad I was already bald or I would have lost all my hair otherwise.” Solas chuckles, pressing his forehead against hers. He sighs relieved and continues, looking into her eyes with a shy worry making its return: “I… I will admit I am still scared about doing this.”

“I know, _vhenan_. It’s normal, we are their parents.” She pecks his lips and smiles lovingly. “But this is good for them, they need it, and I’m sure our fears will finally go away once they start.”

“That is true.” He nuzzles her cheek and murmurs, bringing her hand to his chest. “Thank you, _vhenan_.”

Scarlet answers with another kiss and a happy giggle, then a loud noise comes from the kitchen.

“This must be Fenor preparing dinner.” she says, looking at the open door. There is a moment of silence, then whispered words and Ashera’s cackles follow.

“Maybe we should go check them out.” Solas starts, already panicking; they get up, but before he can head to the kitchen, Scarlet pulls him towards their bedroom.

“ _Vhenan_ , what…”

Once he’s in, she closes the door and takes his head in her hands, squishing his cheeks.

“Solas.” she says, smiling, and he replies timidly: “Yes, _vhenan_?”

“They are going to be alright. They won’t always need us and this is one of those cases when I’m sure they can take care of themselves and the kitchen.” She laughs and rubs her nose against his, watching a warm smile spread on his face. “Now please kiss me _a lot_. I need all the cuddles in the world to recover from that scare.”

Solas’ smile turns into a grin and he takes her up in his arms, bringing her to bed. Outside their room, their children carefully cook in the kitchen, enjoying themselves and the freedom their parents always wanted them to have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, this fic is complete! ( ´ ▽ ` ) I enjoyed exploring Solas' relationship with his children once they are grown enough to rebel. Thank you [ConstantlyComic](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstantlyComic/gifts) for the prompt!
> 
> Also here is [Fenor and Ashera's bio](http://lafaiette.tumblr.com/solavellanbabies), together with two pictures of them ([1](http://68.media.tumblr.com/2ce0ba9953402c7c090d41f988aadcd6/tumblr_ogec9dmVJR1rpm0qso1_1280.png) and [2](http://68.media.tumblr.com/f158aeb9e78a50deb76edbc88fc9288e/tumblr_ogec9dmVJR1rpm0qso2_1280.png)) showing how they look like once they are older, made by the awesome [hedgehawke](http://hedgehawke.tumblr.com/post/152968673178).

**Author's Note:**

> [ConstantlyComic](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ConstantlyComic/pseuds/ConstantlyComic) requested a fic with Solas dealing with older [older Fenor and Ashera](http://lafaiette.tumblr.com/solavellanbabies)! Since the fic was getting really long for a single chapter only, I decided to cut it in half, so please expect the conclusion soon. I even commissioned a picture of older Fenor and Ashera which should be ready soon as well. I'll make sure to add it to their page above once it's done.
> 
> I think Solas would get quite overprotective over his children at first: as he starts to witness their growth and change, he is torn between letting them be as free as they like and shielding them from the world. ;_;
> 
> His poor "Papa Wolf heart" cries because his babies are quickly becoming adult; after everything he went through, I believe he would make sure nothing and nobody could ever hurt his family. Same counts for [Scarlet](http://lafaiette.tumblr.com/scarletlavellan), so things are a bit chaotic during the first times of pre-teen angst or "rebellion". 
> 
> I hope you will enjoy this!


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